Case Studies

I first met Brittney following brain stem surgery. The BalanceWear mobility garment was applied during her rehabilitation. You are seeing her learning to run in place, one day following application of the BalanceWear vest, six months after her surgery. “When I started her treatment, Brittney was in a wheelchair and did not have much use of her left side at all.”

She is now thriving. Here is her quote, “Things are going great for me! I go to NAU (Northern Arizona University) at the Scottsdale Campus, and I’m in the teaching program for early childhood and elementary education. I have a 4.0 grade point average, my associates degree, and will be graduating in one year with a bachelors degree and teaching certificate to teach birth- 8th grade. I am still a nanny, and I also intern at the elementary school as a requirement for the program I’m in. It’s a lot of work, but I’m happy 🙂

Exercise class

Exercise class

Causes of Balance and Mobility Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a progressive autoimmune disease typically diagnosed in young adults, affecting the central nervous system causing damage to the myelin surrounding the nerves and lesions in the brain. Although the disease progresses differently in each person often gait and mobility problems are encountered. Individuals experience many different symptoms such as loss of sensation, visual or vestibular function, spasticity, weakness, central processing and motor output dysfunction. Any or all of the symptoms may contribute to a loss of balance leading to difficulty in walking.
If you experience balance problems you should see a physical therapist who is knowledgeable in treating patients with multiple sclerosis. Many people in my MS exercise class partially funded by the MSFoundation find they are able to do so much more than they thought they were capable of. When people get the diagnosis that they have a neurodegenerative disease and experience a relapse many do not rehabilitate back to where they started. With proper guidance many of them are experiencing recovery of function that they thought was unattainable.